'Big Bang Theory': All the Secrets and Easter Eggs From the Series Finale

No More Broken Elevator

One of the biggest payoffs in the Big Bang Theory finale was when it was reveled that the apartment building elevator, which has been broken for the entire series, is now fixed.

"Originally, when we were talking about the finale, [the elevator reveal] was going to come much later," Big Bang executive producer Steve Holland said of the moment.

"And then story-wise, it felt like the perfect moment and it felt like a much bigger surprise coming so early in 23 instead of at the end of 24," he added.

Run-Time Easter Egg

Another fun little Easter Egg was found early on in the final episode, but it may have too obscure for casual fans of the series.

"Leonard and Sheldon are glueing the DNA statue back together and Leonard says, 'This may be the glue talking but that was the most pleasurable 139 and a half hours,' " Big Bang executive producers Steve Molaro explained. "Well, we figured out that is how many hours of Big Bang Theory that have been created over the last 12 years."

"279 total episodes, which is 139 and a half hours," he went on to reveal.

Leonard and Penny Are Expecting...

One of the biggest surprises to have been kept a secret was that Leonard and Penny are expecting a baby.

The couple had a night of drunken passion two months prior, and the result seems to be that Penny is pregnant with the couple's first child.

"I think we always liked the thought honoring and going back to the fact that Leonard and Penny were the beginning of this show and our central relationship," Holland said of the revelation. "It just felt like really nice closure to them and I think writing against it this season it helped make it a surprise at the end."

Raj's Date

One big surprise was when it was reveled that Raj's date to Sheldon and Amy's Nobel Prize ceremony was actress Sarah Michelle Gellar.

"I think the Kooth and Anu storyline was really nice and good for Kooth and got him some growth, but it didn't feel right for us to have him go off and enter into this relationship," Holland said, referring to Raj breaking up with his girlfriend Anu in the penultimate episode.

"Not everyone has to end up married. Not everyone has to end up in a relationship," he added. "I still think there's hope for Koothrappali and still think he, ultimately, finds someone who's amazing and perfect for him. But I think it was a way for him to have a satisfying end to that story, but not tie everyone up in a relationship bow by the end."

Howard and Bernadette's Children

During the finale, Howard and Bernadette's children were finally introduced after only being referred to for over three seasons.

"That wasn't even planned when we were going in to write the scene. We were in it and then [Big Bang creator] Chuck [Lorre] said, "Why don't we just show the kids? It's the last episode and we never have to show them again, so why don't we show the kids?," Holland explained. "Part of the reason to not show them was it let us get away with not having to have kids on the set, which is difficult."

"And I will tell you that based on shooting that one scene, we were right," Molaro added with a laugh. "But that scene did turn out very cute!" It sure did.

Sheldon and Amy's Nobel Prize Win

Another big moment from the Big Bang Theory finale was the reveal that Amy and Sheldon won a Nobel Prize.

Maybe the most important part of the scene, though, was how emotional Sheldon became when thanking his friends in his acceptance speech.

"[It's] just the biggest growth that this character can have in this moment that he's wanted his whole life," Holland said of the scene.

"Instead of taking that spotlight on himself, he took that moment and he made it about his friends," he added. "And that just seemed like the biggest sort of character growth we could give him in the end."

The Secret Last Scene

The final big moment from Big Bang's finale was its literal final moment, showing the gang sitting around eating Chinese food together one last time.

"It's how we wanted it to end," Holland said. "We knew the show and the final episode was going to involve some travel, but we really wanted to end it in our home."

"This show brings so much happiness to people and as a fan of it, I wanted to know that tomorrow morning they were still going to be hanging out together," Molaro added. "So we kind of summed it up that this show can say goodbye, but the characters don't need to."